Positive Sum Worlds: Remaking public goods

Public goods are defined in this essay as a shared, value-laden concept rather than a purely economic one, and the author argues that crypto protocols do not yet meet that standard. The text notes that Vitalik Buterin and others in the cryptocurrency community have taken up the language of blockchain mechanisms as public goods, but argues that token ownership concentrated among a few "whales" and a focus on price limit their publicness. It also argues that defining the public as token holders excludes small holders and non-participants, and that public goods always reflect a group's shared values and moral sensibilities.